According to a report released by an economic thinktank called the Adam Smith Institute, Fairtrade labelled goods aren’t actually benefiting the very people it’s meant to help because it sustains unproductive and unprofitable farming in underdeveloped regions. The report also claims that Fairtrade is a mere marketing gimmick, with most of the surcharge slapped on coffee and other supermarket products actually ending up in retailers’ coffers.

Free trade – where tariffs and red tape are slashed and markets opened for investment – was mooted by the institute as the most humane and effective way of helping vulnerable farmers.

Click here to read the Daily Telegraph article on the report and here on columnist Janet Daley’s take on the matter.